Popping
up
and
spreading
like wildfire on Wednesday was the leaked "bootleg"
trailer for the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
trailer to be shown with Iron Man. While the theatrical trailer
bootleg or otherwise looks and sounds great, it wasn't the official ,
hi-res version that fans have been spoiled by coming from Lucasfilm at
the official Indiana Jones website, but that didn't stop the
speculation.MTV's Shawn Adler has done a shot-by-shot review of what's in the second
theatrical trailer for Indy 4, and here are some of the
highlights;

0:06: The trailer begins with a pan
shot of Argentina's Iguazu Falls, known as "The Devil's Throat." In
voiceover, Indy explains the movie's setup: "Legend says that a crystal
skull was stolen from a lost city in the Amazon ... "

0:13: The scene shifts to the altar
room of a dilapidated temple, shrouded in darkness, as Dr. Jones
continues, " ... supposedly built out of solid gold," and a flash of
golden light fills the chamber.

When the soundtrack listing for the
fourth Indy adventure was released last month, we wondered what titles
like "Orellana's Cradle" and "Hidden Treasure and the City of Gold"
could possibly mean for the story. Since all our efforts had been spent
deciphering the existing mythology of the crystal skulls, we were
thrown off-guard by the mention of another, seemingly competing legend.
Jones' explanation is our first real proof of how it all fits together.

0:19: " ... guarded by the living
dead." Shots of temple warriors (both living and dead) roll by. A
lonely scorpion crawls over a skeleton's ribcage.

0:24: Our first real look at the
Crystal Skull itself, as a man (presumably Indy) delicately maneuvers
it in front of Mutt (Shia LaBeouf). Notice the massive eye cavities,
the dolichocephaly — this is no human skull. "Whoever returns the skull
to the city temple will be given control of its power."

Pay particular attention to the
grammatical antecedent of "its," which is somewhat unclear. Does "its"
refer to the skulls or to the temple? The sentence is worth parsing
because there are persistent rumors that the climax of the movie will
see the temple itself ascend into space. Does that mean the power
belongs within the temple itself, which could be a camouflaged
spaceship? In that case, the skulls would be akin to keys — needed to
activate some kind of power, but powerless on their own. Jones should
have been an English professor.

0:42-0:46: Jones leaps from atop
crates at the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" warehouse. Meanwhile, an
explosion rocks another part of the building, engulfing two soldiers in
flames. Both shots were in the first trailer.

0:49: Indy's iconic silhouette
framed on the door of an Army jeep. Although we've heard his voice and
seen him from behind twice, this is really the trailer's first money
shot — and it occurs at almost precisely the same time as it did in the
first trailer (roughly 50 seconds in). Notice how in both, his
introduction is not a standard hero pose, but the same shadowed image.
He's an icon and an archetype, and maybe one of only a few movie
characters in history that could be recognized simply from their shadow
(Mickey Mouse? The Little Tramp?). As noted before, this has always
been one of his greatest characteristics — recall, for instance, how
Marion recognized him in "Raiders."

1:01: Jones, in a temple, stops Mutt
short with his forearm. "Don't touch anything," he insists. On one
level we can chuckle, imagining what sort of deadly booby traps will be
unleashed when Mutt inevitably fails to follow Indy's advice. On
another, avid fans will recall that this is — to the word — the exact
advice he gave to Short Round in "Temple of Doom."

1:15: Indy falls through a glass
ceiling onto an illuminated table at the "Raiders" warehouse (we can
see crates in the background of the first shot). But what kind of table
is it that he falls onto?

1:17: Our first look at John Hurt,
as his character and Indy are held at spear-point somewhere in the
jungle. The most persistent rumor is that Hurt is playing Abner
Ravenwood, Marion's father and Indy's lost mentor, who is speculated to
have disappeared inside the temple while looking for the crystal
skulls. The shot reveals nothing one way or the other.

1:33-1:38: "What's he gonna do now?"
Mutt asks Marion, as the pair sit in the front of a truck careening
through the jungle. "I don't think he plans that far ahead," she mocks,
as the tip of a rocket powered grenade creeps into view. "I'd cover my
ears if I were you," Jones slyly demands, firing the RPG into a tank.

To see the full article go to MTV.com or better yet go to the movies and see
Indy the way he was meant to be seen!

The
official
IndianaJones.com
has been updated with a slightly new design but more importantly; the
site has also revealed the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull story synopsis and a HD QuickTime version of the new
Theatrical Trailer! Love it!!

You can view the new Trailer in Flash
format and High Definition QuickTime format at IndianaJones.com.
Or view the HD QuickTime spot by using these links:

And here follows the official Kingdom
of
the
Crystal
Skull story synopsis:

The newest Indiana Jones adventure
begins in the desert Southwest in 1957 - the height of the Cold War.
Indy and his sidekick Mac (Ray Winstone) have barely escaped a close
scrape with nefarious Soviet agent on a remote airfield.

Now, Professor Jones has returned
home to Marshall College - only to find things have gone from bad to
worse. His close friend and dean of the college (Jim Broadbent)
explains that Indy's recent activities have made him the object of
suspicion, and that the government has put pressure on the university
to fire him. On his way out of town, Indiana meets rebellious young
Mutt (Shia LaBeouf), who carries both a grudge and a proposition for
the adventurous archaeologist: If he'll help Mutt on a mission with
deeply personal stakes, Indy could very well make one of the most
spectacular archaeological finds in history - the Crystal Skull of
Akator, a legendary object of fascination, superstition and fear.

But as Indy and Mutt set out for the
most remote corners of Peru - a land of ancient tombs, forgotten
explorers and a rumored city of gold - they quickly realize they are
not alone in their search. The Soviet agents are also hot on the trail
of the Crystal Skull. Chief among them is icy cold, devastatingly
beautiful Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), whose elite military unit is
scouring the globe for the eerie Crystal Skull, which they believe can
help the Soviets dominate the world... if they can unlock its secrets.

Indy and Mutt must find a way to
evade the ruthless Soviets, follow an impenetrable trail of mystery,
grapple with enemies and friends of questionable motives, and , above
all, stop the powerful Crystal Skull from falling into the deadliest of
hands.

Two
more
new
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull
TV spots were found at YouTube. And both reveal a couple new shots and
dialogue we haven't seen or heard before! Can't wait to see these two
in HD QuickTime at IndianaJones.com.

The
official
IndianaJones.com
has been updated with seven new TV Spots, all available in High Def.
QuickTime! And they're definitely worth watching in HD as they all show
a couple new much promising scenes, quotes, and nuns!

IndianaJones.com has also posted a new
behind-the-scenes "Indy Arrives!" featurette showing Harrison Ford
dressed as Indiana Jones, cracking his whip, talking to Spielberg and
preparing scenes.

You
can
now
listen
to samples of the full Indiana Jones and the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull soundtrack at Amazon.com.

Samples of all 19 Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull tracks composed by John Williams are present. But
beware before you visit Amazon.com as many of the track titles can be
described as SPOILERS!

These samples all sound like classic
John Williams!
Especially listen to the "The Spell of the Skull" and the "Finale"
sample tracks as you will recognize hints to the "Map Room" and
"Marion's Theme" tracks from Raiders of the Lost Ark in them!

The Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull soundtrack will be released on May 20, 2008.

Thanks to Dave B., Niels, Felix and
'ScarfaceJoker' at The Raven for the heads up.

Posted by Gilles V

Michael Bay
Predicts Indy 4 to "Suck"

08/05/08, 2:10pm EST

/Film has an amusing video clip of blockbuster
filmmaker Michael Bay speaking to an audience and reminicing on his
days as a 15 year old kid working at Lucasfilm in 1981.
Back then the wide-eyed teenager told his friends that he felt the new
film called Raiders of the Lost Ark looked like it was going to
suck. Thankfully we all know how wrong he was. In keeping with
tradition, Bay said he was recently at Spielberg's office for Transformers
2, and got to see a bit of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull. Knowing how wrong he was last time, Bay jokingly
predicted the same amount of suckage for Indiana Jones 4.

See for yourself one man who is constantly wrong
on his Indiana Jones predictions!

The
returning
Ravenwood,
Marion
that is not Abner, the lovely and bubbly,
Karen Allen took time to speak to the folks at Geek magazine about her
return as everyone's favorite fiery heroine, Marion.

Speaking to the magazine, Ms. Allen
had this to say:

Since Raiders was a period piece,
did Spielberg make you watch any old movies or give you any kind of
model for how he saw Marion?

Karen: "The only thing we looked at together was Hud -- he
told me that Marion reminded him a lot of the Patricia Neal character
in Hud."

Her responce to the cheers at her
introduction in last year's ComicCon:

Karen: "We couldn't hear the reaction and the screen they had
on it was actually turned the other way from us so I couldn't see
anything, but people told us it was a wonderful reaction."

On working with Harrison Ford:

Karen: "This time felt so easy and natural and filled with
humor. ... Even though there was such a long gap, it felt like it was
yesterday that we working together."

You can read more about snakes, almost
being Princess Leia(?) and how Marion has changed in Geek. The magazine
also includes the whipmaster, Anthony DeLongis, who's resume includes
teaching a certain Mr. Ford how to use the bullwhip (his name also
appears on the Alvin and the Chipmunks cartoon movie, funny I
don't remember any bullwhips in that one). You can read more in the May
issue of Geek, with Speed Racer's Christina Ricci on the
cover, on sale now!

Like
a
proverbial
deluge
of biblical proportions, even more images from Indiana
Jones
and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull have surfaced on the
internet. Paramount Pictures has spread a new press map filled with
film info and showcasing not only new stills from the film, but some
behind the scene poses with cast and crew as well.

Here follows a new Indiana Jones 4
press synopsis. Scroll way down to view all new high resolution Indy
4 photos. But beware for SPOILERS!

THE RETURN OF THE GREAT ADVENTURE
Spielberg, Lucas and Ford Re-Team for an Adventure Worthy of the Name
INDIANA JONES

Like its predecessors, Indiana
Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is distinguished from
anything else in the cinema landscape by Steven Spielberg’s
unparalleled vision, George Lucas’s limitless imagination and Harrison
Ford’s embodiment of a timeless adventure hero.

From his first appearance nearly 27
years ago, Indiana Jones has become one of the most beloved heroes of
the silver screen, and almost since the day 1989’s Indiana Jones
and the Last Crusade was released, audiences all over the world
have announced their collective desire for another Indiana Jones
adventure.

“We created
Indiana Jones, but it belongs to the world,” says director
Steven Spielberg. “And now we’re the custodians.
Our job really is to serve up a huge helping not only of what Indiana
Jones means to audiences who grew up with it, but to introduce the
character to those who haven’t. This new film is for the fans.”

Executive producer and co-story
writer, George Lucas, says his goal was to create an experience that
will transport audiences into an all-new adventure set in a familiar
world - a world that generations of fans have come to know and love. “The style is the same, the humor is the same.
Everything feels the same. But we’ve also been able to build on it. The
relationships we have on the set and the ones on the screen are
stronger and better and more fun than they’ve ever been,” Lucas
says.

Few actors have been as inextricably
identified with a character as Harrison Ford is with Indiana Jones -
and he returned to the role with all the style and swagger that helped
turn the archaeologist-adventurer into a cinema icon. “Having been out in the world making all kinds of other
movies, I was happy to do another Indiana Jones film, just because
they’re so damned much fun to do,” Ford says. “I love being in business again with Steven and George,
and I’ve had a great time on this one.”

Spielberg calls Ford’s casting the
most important element in the unique alchemy of Indiana Jones. “More important than my directing it, more important
than all the writers that came in, more important than almost the sum
of all of its parts, was the fact that this series would not have been
as successful as it was if it were not for Harrison Ford playing that
role,” says Spielberg. “Harrison is at
home in the skin of Indiana Jones.”

For years after the release of Last
Crusade, Spielberg harbored a belief that the time for Indiana
Jones had ended. “I shot Indiana Jones riding a
horse into the sunset because I thought that brought the curtain down
on the story,” he remarks. “And in a
sweet, nostalgic way, that was fine with me at the time. But there were
some people who weren’t fine with it - and this movie really started
with the fans.”

It took the energy, enthusiasm and
persistence of Harrison Ford to inspire the team to reunite for another
adventure. “Harrison called me and said, ‘Why
don’t we make another one of these pictures? There’s a fan base out
there that wants it,’” Spielberg recalls. “He
was
tenacious.
He
called George, and George got to thinking about it,
and then George called me and said, ‘Well, Steve, what do you want to
do? It could be fun to make another movie.’”

“I have to
give the credit to Harrison for starting the ball rolling and then to
George for working to get me to consider the possibility of at least
one more story,” Spielberg says.
Together, Spielberg, Lucas and Ford agreed that they would only pursue
a fourth Indiana Jones adventure if the idea - and the execution - were
up to the standards of the first three movies.

It took 19 years to find just the
right script - and one of the first points of agreement between the
three was that 19 years should pass for Indiana Jones, too. “He is certainly older, if not wiser,” Ford
jokes.

See all new high resolution Indy 4
photos by clicking on these thumbnails.

From
ads
for
the
remastered DVDs of his early adventures to Dr. Pepper ads
and a new interview in the USA Weekend, Indy is everywhere.

After just watching Harrison Ford joke
with Jay Leno that the reason why Leno couldn't see a clip or copy of Kingdom
of
the
Crystal
Skull, is because it "sucks" ( he WAS kidding - he
said he thought it was great and even better than the other ones they
did), I opened Entertainment Weekly to see two Indy ads. The first
showcasing the release of Indy's first three big screen adventures,
then a few pages later to see new art of Indy and Mutt for Dr. Pepper.
The latter ad also had a shot of all six of the Limited Edition
Collector Cans of Dr. Pepper (five of which I have - where's the Mutt
can?). Then open the paper to see the weekend magazine section to find
Ford and LaBeouf on the cover of USA Weekend.

It's a great article where the two
starts open up on everything from whip tricks to women and how to get
into character. If you don't get the USA Magazine you can read it
online here.

But seek out the actual newspaper for
the cool Indy poster inside the center spread!

And here follow two YouTube clips
showing Harrison Ford's visit to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
yesterday.

With only ten or so days to go, who
knows where else Indy will turn up like a bad penny.

Here
follows
a
list
of all planned Harrison Ford & Shia LaBeouf US talk
show visits for the next couple of weeks leading up to the release of Indiana
Jones
and
the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on May 22nd!

The
official
IndianaJones.com
has been updated with extensive production information as well as
introductions to the lead cast, characters and crew members.

And in case you haven't heard already,
John Hurt is playing a certain Professor by the name of Harold "Ox" Oxley. And old friend of Indiana
Jones from the time they were both students of Abner Ravenwood.

Pay a visit to IndianaJones.com
for more info on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Posted by Gilles V

New Indiana
Jones 4 Interview and Articles

14/05/08, 4:21pm EST

Here
is
a
fresh
list of brand new Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull related articles and interviews online.

From
backstage
whip
practice
to cruising with two of the biggest filmmakers
of all time, IESB.net has a series of "behind the scenes"
footage of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
that is great! Many of the images have appeared in compilations on the
official Indiana Jones website in those production videos, but IESB.net has about fifteen minutes of scenes from
New Haven to New Mexico that have never been seen.

So take a peak if you dare, but be
warned some of these are definitely SPOILERS and with only a few days
to go, you may yet be surprised at what you see!

The
Cannes
Film
Festival
began yesterday and as Indiana Jones and the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will be having its world premiere
there this Sunday, May 18th, one would expect a lot of cool Indiana
Jones advertisements and outdoor banners on the streets of seaside city
at the south-east of France... and yes indeed, behold:

My pal Mike has better luck than I do, for it was he and not I that was
selected by Casting agent Billy Dowd to be in the New Haven scenes of Indiana
Jones
4 last year. By while I transformed into an "indy-reporter"
Mike was put on screen for some wild rides through Marshall College
albeit as a blurry background character. Mike has related his - NON
spoiler memories on paper and it just ran in the local free press
called the New Haven Advocate -- so while you wont read any
secrets, it is fun to read about how an everyday guy became part of the
world of Indiana Jones.

I had no desire to see Raiders
Of
The
Lost
Ark when it took us all by surprise in 1981. This
apathy on my part was based solely on its strange title: It sounded
like a documentary, and I incorrectly assumed it was a re-hash of In
Search Of Noah's Ark. A friend who had already seen it, dragged me to
New Haven's Cine Twin Theater on Middletown Avenue. By the time that
huge cement ball began rolling I was hooked!

Decades passed, and I found myself
in and out of the New Haven arts scene in various incarnations—a comedy
troupe here, a rock band there, an actor in various plays, an emcee of
different events, many of which took place in or around Yale. Almost
without exception, whenever I found myself wandering Yale, its
wonderful architecture gave me an almost-palpable 'back-in-time' feel.
I've often felt transported back in time while visiting Sterling
Library, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Woolsey Hall or Old
Campus.

So when I heard Steven Spielberg was
coming to town to shoot a chase scene through the streets of New Haven,
under the Yale archway and into the dining hall, for the long-planned
Indiana Jones sequel, this made perfect sense to me. When I heard he
was planning to re-dress the city with a 1957 look, I nodded with
understanding.

But when my friend Mitch Hallock
called to tell me I should audition as an extra, I was dismissive: The
lines would be too long and there would be too much competition.
Besides, I had a day job to think about.

So why did I show up there anyway,
hours before the casting call? Because you never know.

I arrived at the back door of the
Omni Hotel far too early, before the line even formed, and told them I
had to be at work in 15 minutes, but could they maybe use me as an
extra? I filled out my height and weight forms, and one of the men with
a clipboard mumbled, "Professor."

They photographed me, gave me a
number and told me to report for a fitting the next day at noon. The
fitting took place inside a secret doorway, behind the old Chapel
Square Mall—a door you'd never think to try to open, yet it opened.
Once inside, we were herded into the old Rite Aid Pharmacy warehouse,
now fitted with rows and rows of vintage clothing, old hats, jackets,
shoes, ties, suitcases, and collectible accessories from the '50s.
There wasn't much talking because everyone was a stranger, and everyone
was nervous.

Soon it was my turn. I made small
talk with the woman who dressed and undressed me with various old sport
coats. She was Mary Zophres, Costume Designer—a job so important her
name appeared not at the end of the film, but in opening credits. Had
she worked on any movies I had seen? Only a few: The Big Lebowski,
Catch Me If You Can, There's
Something
About
Mary, O Brother Where Art Thou, Kingpin
and now Indiana Jones IV and No Country For Old Men.
I
think
it
was cool she spent so much time with me. After all, I wasn't
even really an extra yet, was I?

I will be attending some of the
Connecticut showings of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull with Mike and other extras next week -- If you want
to be part of the party send me an email at The
Raven.

Like
a
high
school
reunion, the godfathers of action gathered to speak with ABC's Good Morning America
host, Diane Sawyer, from the Cannes Film Festival. Gathered were
Harrison Ford, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and newcomer to the Indy
legend, Shia LaBeouf. The gang talked about getting back together and
why it took so long and best of all... the chance to get together and
do it all over again!

FOXNews.com caught up with George Lucas at Cannes
who had a lot to say about the new Indy film and its future.

"I haven’t
even told Steven or Harrison this," he said. "But I have an idea to make Shia [LaBeouf] the lead
character next time and have Harrison [Ford] come back like Sean
Connery did in the last movie. I can see it working out."

"And it’s not
like Harrison is even old. I mean, he’s 65 and he did everything in
this movie. The old chemistry is there, and it’s not like he’s an old
man. He’s incredibly agile; he looks even better than he did 20 years
ago, if you ask me."

MTV already went looking for reactions to this
idea of Ford being reduced to a sidekick in the Indiana Jones 5,
and returns with responses by stars Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf
themselves.

"I have no
cheeky answer for [that]. I just work here. I'm glad to work here,"
Ford
told
MTV
News at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday (May 16). "Till they tell me otherwise, I will continue to be
Indiana Jones."

"I know
Harrison would love to," LaBeouf countered, smiling. "I know that Harrison, when he's 80, will still be
jacked. Is there going to be an 80-year-old Indiana Jones? No one can
say never."

There's actually already been a
93-year-old Indiana Jones, portrayed by George Hall in The Young
Indiana Jones Chronicles, which ran on TV from 1992 to 1993. But
while those episodes didn't have Harrison Ford (save for one) they
still heavily centered on the character he helped create — he wasn't
regulated to second-fiddle status.

For fans, then, the issue leading up
to the release of Crystal Skull is whether or not Indy
without Indy is still Indy — the reasonable assumption being that a
Mutt film is only as strong as Mutt himself.

Is Mutt a good enough character to
take center stage? LaBeouf said it's up to the fans, who will
ultimately choose the fate of Indiana Jones with their reception of Crystal
Skull. Choose ... wisely.

"Mutt's pretty
wild [but] it's all about what the public feels," LaBeouf said. "I know if it's received well, that's a pretty definite
indicator. If it's received well, I don't imagine they would stop
making them."

"I don't think
a Mutt spin-off would be as big as Indiana Jones," he added,
coyly. "[But] fingers crossed!"

The
World
Premiere
of
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal
Skull will take place today at 7 pm, Cannes Local Time. (12 pm
EST) and can be viewed live from the Croisette at IFC.com's Cannes Cam.

Cannes Cam reports that the red carpets usually
kick off approximately 45 minutes before start of film. So don't tune
in at 7 pm or you may have missed the whole show!

The first reviews for Kingdom of
the Crystal Skull are expected online later today. But The Sunday Times already has the response from
John Harlow who says to "ignore all the gossip, the new Indiana
Jones film is worth the wait."

Thanks to Norman DeCindis and Hud for
the Sunday Time article link.

Posted by Gilles V

The First Indiana
Jones
4 Reviews are Online!

18/05/08, 2:53pm EST

Here
follows
the
very
first list of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of
the Crystal Skull reviews! There will always be people that hate
it but the majority on "this" list is positive:

"it came as a surprise to many
people in Cannes that the film was so entertaining. Swashes were
buckled, rips were roared and sticks were slapped."Mark Savage - BBC

"It's not that Indiana Jones
and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, exhumed after 19 years to be
the fourth in this series, is bad, exactly. But it's undeniably creaky."David Gritten - The Daily Telegraph

"Begins with an actual big bang,
then gradually slides toward a ho-hum midsection before literally
taking off for an uplifting finish."Todd
McCarthy - Variety

"It's like a fond reunion with an
old friend and will not disappoint diehard fans or deter a new
generation from embracing it as a summer blockbuster adventure ride."Allan Hunter - Screen International

"It's not the best movie of all time
but Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a thrilling, thoroughly
enjoyable romp that should please even the most devout fans of Steven
Spielberg and George Lucas' franchise."Roger Friedman - FOXNews.com

"The eagerly awaited fourth chapter
is not a great film by any standard, but mixing conventions of all
1950s genres (sci-fi, adventure, and even horror and spy), it delivers
the goods to the fans in a mass spectacle package that's a good
old-fashioned fun."Emanuel Levy - EmanuelLevy.Com

"There are some nice moments, and
everything is good-natured enough. But this is a moment for Harrison
Ford to hang up the hat."Peter Bradshaw - Guardian.co.uk

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull gets swamped in a sea of stunts and CGI that
are relentless as the scenes and character relationships are charmless."Kirk Honeycutt - Hollywood Reporter

Stay tuned to Rotten
Tomatoes for many more Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
reviews.

Thanks to 'Logan S', waptap, Agent Z.,
The Man, 'Mutt Williams', Yure, Blue Jay and all other Indyfans at The Raven for posting review
links.

Posted by Gilles V

Jawad Reviews Indiana
Jones
4

18/05/08, 10:45pm
EST

Early
this
morning,
I
saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal
Skull and boy what an adventure it was. Despite having few
production meetings and a family dinner, I got home after a long day
about 2 hours ago and sat down to write this review. Below is an
excerpt from my review.

My first experience watching a
Spielberg film was Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom back
in the fall of 1993. As I waited for Jurassic Park to come on
VHS in October 1994, since I was not allowed to go to movie theatres. I
spent a year watching all of the Spielberg films as I waited for Jurassic
Park including other Indiana Jones films. Although, I must correct
myself that I do remember seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark
earlier in 1983 at the age of 5 and remember the opening sequence. That
being said, after watching all 3 Indiana Jones films on VHS, I really
wanted to see another Indiana Jones film but on the big screen.

When I launched
DreamWorksFansite.com back 1997, rumours were at it's best that we will
be seeing Indiana Jones 4 soon. Four years later nothing
happened but TheRaider.net was born in partnership between
myself and Gilles V. And since then it has been a 7 years of journey
listening to every Spielberg interview at junket with the leading
question, 'When will we see Indiana Jones 4? And then
suddenly last year, it was officially announced after Lucas, Ford and
Spielberg all agreed to a script...

As the song goes, if you can make there you can make it anywhere...
well it's true for Indiana Jones 4! The New York Daily News and
the New York Post ran with Indiana Jones on the front page of their
respective newspapers and featured no only Cannes coverage but glowing
reviews. The headline in the New York Post was "KNOCKOUT" done in Raiders
typeface and the paper went on to give it 3 out of 4 stars. The New York Daily News had the headline, "Hats Off to
Indy", with 4 out of 5 stars. Both papers are realistic and saying that
no sequel could ever top the sheer genius and originality of the
original Raiders of the Lost Ark but Kingdom of the Crystal
Skull is a close second and a welcome edition to the Indy
franchise.

Indiana
Jones
and
the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull had its world premiere
at the Cannes Film Festival yesterday. Stars and filmmakers in
attendance included Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Harrison Ford,
Karen Allen, Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, John Hurt, Ray Winstone and
many more!

Here follows a list of links to red
carpet and press images as well as video coverage on the world premiere
and interviews. Enjoy!

PS: The Indiana Jones 4
T-meter at Rotten Tomatoes has increased from 67%, with 12
reviews yesterday, up to 80% with 54 reviews today (82% gold from the
Top critics)! And still many more reviews are to be expected soon.

Harrison
Ford,
partner
Calista
Flockhart, Karen Allen and Shia LaBeouf attended
the New York City premiere of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull at the AMC Magic Johnson Theater in Harlem
yesterday. While co-star Cate Blanchett attended the premiere of Crystal
Skull in Sydney, Australia.

Here follows a list of articles and
coverage on these Indy 4 related evens as well as some
special Indy feature articles on other film sites.

The
big
day
was
here, and I was counting down the minutes and seconds until
I once again was transported back to the 1980s with the greatest hero
of my time! Only an act of God could stop me, and lo and behold a
thunder storm broke out with high winds! My son, Spencer, said "Dad,
what if the electricity is out and you can't see Indy at midnight"?

"Don't say those things -- it can
never happen!".

Never say never!

The whole two miles to the theatre
were black as all the street lights were out and there was no
electricity -- I called my wife in a panic! I was going to drive to the
next town over if I had to. I could not miss this movie. Like a glowing
Ark of the Covenant, I saw the lights of te Bow Tie Cinema in the
darkness, yes they had power! Indy was a go!

I sat in the theatre and watched
fedora and leather jacket clad fans flow in. I was wearing my Indyfans
T-Shirt and Indy leather jacket and was going on about what the film
would be like to anyone who would listen and there were a lot of ears!

Then after seven terminally long
trailers it started with a bang! Literally! The next two hours flew by
as I was scouring the screen for in-jokes, sound effects, music cues,
trademark dialogue and action. Indy was back and I was desperate to
hear every detail on what he had been up to since the Canyon of the
Crescent Moon. Playing the local boy, I was eating up all the New Haven
shots and mentally noting all my hometown landmarks as they raced by.
Hats off to Spielberg and Lucas for throwing in cool in-jokes from American
Graffiti, Star Wars, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
and the other Indy movies.

The film was new, different and also
comfortably the same at the same time. It wasn't Raiders, Temple
or Last Crusade but a combination of all and something else.
The action was cool, the sets spooky and the characters colorful as
always. But where were the chills? Well, true to form, they came at the
end when Indy and the gang were once again brought together in a shot
at a place that I knew all too well, because I had been there for
similar events -- and in those last few minutes -- I didn't want it to
end. I wanted to see what happened next to Indy and the gang when the
walked out through that door. Even there everyday mundane life seemed
exciting. I wished it was going to be only a week or so before the next
chapter of Dr. Henry Jones, Jr was played out on the silver screen.

As the old show biz saying goes,
always leave the crowd wanting more and that's what I got from Indiana
Jones
and
the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. But in a good way.

I guess I will just have to watch this
one again and again and again.

Good night -- I am going to bed.. See
you tomorrow Indiana Jones fans!

On
the
eve
of
the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull, MovieTickets.com reported that as of 4:15 p.m. ET,
the movie has accounted for 77 percent of its total tickets sold
yesterday. Further, the total volume of Indiana Jones tickets sold at MovieTickets.com tripled from
Sunday (5/18) to Monday (5/19).

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of
the Crystal Skull has been released worldwide... TODAY!!

Posted by Gilles V

More Indiana
Jones 4 Press Coverage

22/05/08, 5:20pm EST

Here
follows
today's
collection
of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
related articles, features and interviews with the cast and crew.

Thanks to Vignir Jón Vignisson,
Russ 'ROTLA' Simeone, and Harrison Ford Web for the new links.

Posted by Gilles V

Zero Spoiler
Review of Indiana Jones 4!

23/05/08, 9:09am EST

Let's
get
straight
to
business. We all had Indy-filled childhoods with warm
memories, so I'm not going to self-indulgently bore you with mine.
Nineteen years after his last adventure, did Indiana Jones survive the
Temple of Hype? Well, there's really no way this movie could escape
disappointment on some level. Most viewers want Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull to take them back to the 1980s and those happier
days, but this is 2008 and there's no going back. The past is gone and
change happens.

What the audiences of Indiana Jones
are left with in the new century is a film that has the mystery and
intrigue of Raiders of the Lost Ark with the go-for-broke
action of Temple of Doom and humor akin to Last Crusade.
In
many
ways,
the film is a hodgepodge of elements from the previous
films, while placing them against new characters and situations.

Of course, as the title belies, Indy
and company are on a race to discover the truth behind the mystery of
the Crystal Skull, set against the backdrop of the 1950s and the Cold
War. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is an unapologetic film. As
if the filmmakers knew that 19 years and a changed world would make it
impossible to bring the audience something wholly familiar, they
decided instead to throw the audience headfirst into a completely
unfamiliar scenario.

The movie succeeds admirably at
establishing a very interesting premise surrounding the skull and its
legend. However, like an inconsistent river, exposition is
appropriately deep in the beginning but begins to ebb noticeably in
other sections of the film, sometimes leaving the audience to fend for
itself and Indy to fight on without an evenly evolving story. As with Last
Crusade, the film's strongest element is the relationship between
Indy and his sidekick. In Last Crusade, Ford and Sean Connery's
excellent dynamic carried the film. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
is no different, with Ford and sidekick Shia LaBeouf grounding the
movie.

LaBeouf does a great job in this
movie, incidentally. He is the single most interesting character and
the most entertaining. Meanwhile, Cate Blanchett's “villainess” is as
sinister as they come, but in places the writing is somewhat muddy.
Unlike previous nemeses Belloq, Mola Ram and Donovan, Blanchett's
Spalko is not always given a spelled-out objective. In Raiders of
the Lost Ark and in Last Crusade, the villains sided with
the Nazis, but had their own agendas. Similarly, Spalko has her own
motives beyond the Soviet government, but exactly what they are is hard
to tell.

The action in the film is in the vein
of Temple of Doom more than any other installment, with some
amazingly epic set pieces and rapid, visceral sequences. However,
director Steven Spielberg and creator George Lucas have clearly become
self-indulgent in their old age. There are a handful of “winceworthy”
moments in the film that they must have said, “That would be fun,” and
dropped into the story. Thankfully, these are very, very few, but it
would have been better to leave them on the cutting room floor.

As for Ford himself, he is clearly
still capable of everything Indy needs to be and do, but often the
story doesn't give him enough to work with and we are left with more of
Indy the professor rather than Indy the two-fisted adventurer.

Most die-hard fans like myself were
hoping for another Raiders of the Lost Ark, but this new film
has brought me to the realization that Raiders of the Lost Ark
is really the black sheep of the series, whereas all three of its
sequels reinvented the character in a new direction that focused more
on humor and comic book or pulp style action instead of Raiders'
gritty
realism
and
dramatic tension. Now, we truly have an “Indiana
Jones Trilogy” that just happens to come after a movie called Raiders
of
the
Lost
Ark.

I have more in-depth thoughts on this
film, but they will have to wait until a more comprehensive review is
appropriate. Until then, I will close by stating that Kingdom of
the Crystal Skull is not anywhere close to being terrible. In fact,
the film is not a disappointment by any stretch and is quite
entertaining from beginning to end. That said, the movie has its share
of flaws that bruise the story in places but by no means puts the
latest Indiana Jones adventure on its knees.

Written by Mike French

Team Indy
Featurette

24/05/08, 5:56am EST

The
official
Indiana
Jones
website has been updated with a new featurette
introducing the many talented people working behind the scenes of Indiana
Jones
and
the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

He
may
be
older,
but Indiana Jones is still finding box office treasure.
Paramount's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,
the
fourth
film
in the action-adventure series starring Harrison Ford,
earned $56 million in its first two days, Media By Numbers
president Paul Dergarabedian said.

After earning $25 million in its
Thursday debut, the Steven Spielberg-directed movie brought in another
$31 million Friday.

"These are very
solid numbers, no question about it. The fact that earnings went up on
the second day is a good sign," Dergarabedian said. "Whether it's on pace to beat Pirates'
numbers from last Memorial Day remains to be seen."

Last year, Pirates of the
Caribbean: At World's End set the record for a Memorial Day
weekend opening, earning $153 million including Thursday night preview
grosses.

Indiana Jones will need a strong
weekend finish to top the year's biggest hit so far, Iron Man,
which
pulled
in
$98.6 million domestically in its first weekend.

The film opened early Thursday in
4,260 theaters, according to Media By Numbers.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of
the Crystal Skull, the first film in 19 years about the
archaeologist-adventurer, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this
month to tepid reviews.

The Associated Press has announced that the most
recent Indiana Jones film more than recouped its big budget with an
estimated $311 million in global box office sales through the long
weekend, according to studio estimates Monday.

Families went in droves to catch Indiana
Jones
and
the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a PG-13 adventure
starring Harrison Ford as the whip-cracking archaeologist who took 19
years to return to the big screen.

Paramount Pictures estimated the
action sequel made $151.1 million in the U.S. and Canada from Thursday
to the holiday Monday and $160 million overseas.

It marked the second biggest Memorial
Day weekend opening ever, behind only Pirates of the Caribbean: At
World's End, which made $153 million domestically from Thursday to
Monday last year.

Nearly a third of the domestic
audience was made up of parents with their children, said Rob Moore,
president of Paramount Worldwide Distribution.

"Adults really drove this opening.
This is one of their favorite franchises and they couldn't wait to take
their kids with them," Moore said.

The film cost a reported $185 million
to make, even with the principal talent Ford, director Steven Spielberg
and writer George Lucas deferring their usual fees for a greater share
of the profits.

The first three Indy movies raked in
$1.2 billion worldwide.

Marketing costs were undisclosed,
although the latest Indiana Jones received a major push from
Paramount. DVDs of the first three movies were re-released, they aired
on TV days before the opening and huge billboards sprung up.

The final trailer for the movie rolled
before the opening of Marvel Studios' Iron Man, which was
also distributed by Paramount, three weeks earlier.

"It's been a pretty good month," Moore
said. "We started the month with Iron Man and finished with Indiana
Jones."

Other movies' receipts over the long
weekend paled by comparison.

Disney's The Chronicles of
Narnia: Prince Caspian slashed its way to $28.6 million, for a
total $96.7 million over two weeks. Iron Man locked up third
with $25.7 million in its third week for a total of $257.8 million.

The Wachowski brothers flick Speed
Racer, distributed by Warner Bros., crawled closer to the finish
line with $5.2 million for fifth, bringing its domestic total to $37.4
million. It brought in $30 million overseas, and had yet to be released
in major markets France, Russia, Japan and Australia.

Crystal Skull is forced into
a different historic era due to the aging of the title character.
Although I usually do not agree with George Lucas’ creative impulses of
late, having loathed his Star Wars “prequels,” I concede that
his instincts for setting Indy in the 1950s and focusing on “the atomic
age” are spot on. As Indy has always been a modern homage to B cinema,
looking toward 1950s B movies for inspiration is a brave choice.

Spielberg’s cinematic language has
become so economical; it’s a marvel to watch him tell this story so
successfully in only two hours. There is more packed into this new
Indiana Jones than any of it’s predecessors. Some may feel the more
periphery characters suffer from lack of development but what we are
given—if not extensive biographical detail—is all perfectly clear.

Here
follows
a
new
collection of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull related articles found on the web. Especially note
the fine Indy Trilogy & Kingdom of the Crystal Skull essays
at The
House
Next
Door blog!

Thanks to Craig Clark, Sean Elliott
and Shipwreck for the article links.

Posted by Gilles V

The Frank Marshall
Video Diaries

29/05/08, 2:41pm EST

The
man
who
chronicled
the behind the scenes action on Raiders of the
Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is back!
Frank Marshall, producer of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull is giving fans a truly unique look at the making of
Indy's latest adventure documentary style on the Official Indiana Jones
website. In the first web-isode, Mr. Marshall shows us the first
day of shooting on June 18th in the New Mexico desert and how all the
fun begins with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.

Mr. Marshall was the man who created
some of the greatest behind the scenes looks at Indy over twenty years
ago, and he still has the magic touch (he is Dr. Fantasy after all - in
joke). So take
a quick peak at what was going on at Hanger 51 and DoomTown with
this featurette.

In
a
sad
reflection
on today's times, the grandiose sound of Ben Burtt and
the masterful music of John Williams was intentionally turned down in
certain spots on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
-- on purpose. In an article on Cinema Blend, it appears that this dropping out of
the audio is a new step to stop the illegal copying of movies and then
selling them on the black-market. Friends of mine were spotting illegal
copies of the Crystal Skull with a band of numbers running
across the top of the screen on sale in New York City the day the film
opened. However, buyers and supporters of this cheap, low quality
rip-off should be aware that they are not only buying inferior copies
but supporting a massive illegal business.

To read more about the practice of
stopping these film pirates read the full article at Cinema Blend.

We
have
the
international
estimates for the second weekend of Indiana
Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull! The new film added an
impressive $71.5 million from 8,439 theaters in 60 international
markets this weekend to push its overseas total to $266 million.
In the USA, Crystal Skull dropped a respectable 54% in its
second weekend to $46 million to bring its domestic total to an
impressive $216.8 million so far.
Combine the international with the US estimates and you come to a
number of $482.8 million worldwide for Indy4. And the film
was budgeted at around $185 million!

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of
the Crystal Skull stayed socko at the weekend's international box
office with $71.5 million at 8,439 playdates in 60 territories while Sex
and
the
City wowed foreign fans with $39.2 million at 3,537 in 13
markets.

Crystal Skull held
impressively overseas in its sophomore session with a 51% decline after
the fifth-largest launch of all time, hoisting foreign cume to $266
million. And Sex and the City charmed its way to plenty of
counter-programming coin with a sparkling $11,091 per-screen average.

Sex and the City turned
in its best figure by far in the U.K with $18.3 million over its first
five days and nearly matched the $10.6 million Crystal Skull
grossed during Friday-Sunday. The comedy also won handily in Germany by
43% with $7.8 million while the fourth Indiana Jones pic prevailed in
France by 33% with $8.9 million and in Italy by 7% with $3.3 million.

Variety has
reported that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
crossed the $250 million mark at the US box office and narrowly beat Sex
and
the
City to come in No. 3. Tentpole declined 49% to an
estimated $22.8 million from 4,190 screens in its third frame for a
cume of $253 million.

Foreign fans of Sex and the City
pushed the romantic comedy to the top of the weekend's international
box office with $37.2 million at 4,000 playdates in 40 markets, edging
the third frame of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

After the fifth-biggest foreign
opening frame ever, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has totaled an
impressive $326 million internationally -- the best offshore cume since
I Am Legend reached $327 million
earlier this year. It should easily eclipse the $400 million mark,
becoming the 29th pic to do so, with Japan launching on June 21.

Vanity
Fair
recently
received
a copy of Frank Darabont’s 2003 screenplay for
George Lucas, Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods. And
here follows an excerpt of Vanity Fair's review of Darabont's screenplay:

In the past couple of days, the most
famous of the abortive Indy IV screenplays, the one written
by Shawshank Redemption director Frank Darabont, has surfaced
on the Internet. Darabont was understandably peeved that this script,
which he claims to have “wasted” a year on, was scrapped. He says
Spielberg loved it and that it was Lucas who put the kibosh on it.
VFDaily has unearthed a copy, dated 11/4/03, and titled Indiana
Jones and the City of the Gods. As with anything that surfaces on
the Internet, there is a chance that the screenplay is a hoax. Judging
from typos and awkward dialogue, it is most likely an early draft, but
it’s too professionally written to be a piece of fan-fiction, and too
Indy-savvy to be a professional screenwriter’s stunt. (Darabont has
written several episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.)
So
it’s
probably
real.

Visit VF Daily to read the full review of Darabont's Indy
4 screenplay.

Frank Darabont's Indiana Jones
and the City of the Gods screenplay was briefly available online
this past week. You can read more about this "incident" at Ain't It
Cool News.

Thanks to Ryan O'Connell, Royce and
Michael Sheehan for the heads up.

Posted by Gilles V

Iron Man
Gets to $300 Million First

19/06/08, 2:47pm EST

Marvel
Studios'
Iron Man (distributed by Paramount
Pictures) will
become the first 2008 film to cross the $300 million mark domestically
on Thursday.

Through Tuesday, the comic book
adaptation had earned an estimated $299.3 million in the U.S. and
Canada.

Among summer 2008's other big openers,
Paramount's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
is another clear $300 million candidate, with $279.5 million through
Tuesday. Skull has also grossed $359.5 million internationally
for a worldwide total of $638.9 million.

Iron Man has grossed $250
million internationally for a worldwide total of more than $550 million.

Helped
by
a
powerhouse
opening in Japan, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of
the Crystal Skull again leads the international box office this
weekend, edging The Incredible Hulk and Sex and the City.

Crystal Skull added $25 million
from 5,877 theaters in 62 markets, with over half of that coming via a
$13.1 million Japanese launch. Crystal Skull has hit $392
million overseas -- more than $100 million ahead of its domestic total.
Worldwide, the movie has reached $683 million.

The Incredible Hulk finished
a close second by grabbing $23.4 million at 4,700 from 50 territories
in its soph sesh, and Sex and the City remained an impressive
international player with $21.4 million at 6,554 in 52 markets.

Domestic B.O. winner Get Smart
opened respectably with $5.7 million at 1,082 in 13 smaller markets as
Warners opted to hold off European launches amid competition from the
Euro Cup soccer tourney. Despite the sports distraction, overall biz
was healthy, with the top five pics combining for more than $100
million.

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
has shown solid traction in most key markets, with Brit biz off only
18% in its fifth frame to $2.8 million for a Blighty cume of $74.6
million.

The
IESB.net caught up with producers Frank Marshall
and Tom Crowley on the red carpet of the 34th Annual Saturn Awards on
Tuesday in Universal City. The IESB reporter grasped the opportunity
and asked Frank Marshall about the future of the successful Jason
Bourne and Indiana Jones franchises!

Marshall says the Untitled Jason
Bourne Project is coming soon. Hopefully they will be shooting next
summer for a release in 2010 and our favorite anti-hero is apparently
headed to South America.

As for a fifth Indiana Jones film...
the future of that beloved film franchise seems unknown at the moment.
But check out IESB's exclusive video interview with Producers Frank
Marshall and Pat Crowley to know Marshall's exact answer.

Thanks to Aaron Aguiar for the heads
up.

Posted by Gilles V

Indiana Jones 4
Passes $700 Million Worldwide

01/07/08, 4:46pm EST

Paramount
Pictures
and
Lucasfilm
Ltd. announced yesterday that Indiana Jones
and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has grossed more than $713
million worldwide!

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
has earned more than $300 million domestically and $413 million
overseas since its release last month, making it the top-grossing
worldwide release in 2008 so far.

Indy is Paramount's
distribution arm's second $300 million-plus release this summer,
joining Marvel Entertainment's Iron Man, which has grossed more
than $309 million so far domestically and almost $250 million overseas.

Paramount said it is the first
studio in movie history to release back-to-back $300 million -plus
grossing films two years in a row. In 2007, two consecutive Paramount
releases -- DreamWorks Animation's Shrek the Third and
DreamWorks/Paramount's Transformers -- both surpassed $300
million domestically.

The
official
Indiana
Jones
website has been updated with a new featurette
on the villains Indy encounters during his cinematic adventures. Steven
Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf and George Lucas talk about the
Nazis versus the Russians and their interest in psychic abilities.
While Cate Blanchett talks about the look of Crystal Skull
villainess Irina Spalko!

Visit IndianaJones.com
to view their new "Indy Villains" featurette as well as the brand new Indiana
Jones
and
the
Kingdom of the Crystal SkullAdventure site. Experience the site and view
clips, photos and fun facts!

Thanks to Jeroen Hoogakker for
informing us.

Posted by Gilles V

Indiana Jones 5
- Looking for a Direction

28/07/08, 8:35am EST

Talking
about
Indiana Jones 5 and where to go
next, Indy co-creator
George Lucas had this to say to Times Online:

Lucas is also considering what to
do about the fifth instalment in the Indiana Jones franchise, which he
has produced from the outset. The most recent film, Indiana Jones
and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, has taken almost $750m
(£375m) at the international box office, and the whip-snapping
archeologist remains in high demand, even though his own days as a
whippersnapper are behind him (Harrison Ford is two years older than
Lucas).

"We were
hoping for box-office figures like that, which is, ultimately, with
inflation, what the others have done, within 10%," Lucas
explains. "So, we squeaked up there. Really,
though, it was a challenge getting the story together and getting
everybody to agree on it. Indiana Jones only becomes complicated when
you have another two people saying ‘I want it this way’ and ‘I want it
that way’, whereas, when I first did Jones, I just said, ‘We’ll do it
this way’ — and that was much easier. But now I have to accommodate
everybody, because they are all big, successful guys, too, so it’s a
little hard on a practical level."

"If I can come
up with another idea that they like, we’ll do another. Really, with the
last one, Steven wasn’t that enthusiastic. I was trying to persuade
him. But now Steve is more amenable to doing another one. Yet we still
have the issues about the direction we’d like to take. I’m in the
future; Steven’s in the past. He’s trying to drag it back to the way
they were, I’m trying to push it to a whole different place. So, still
we have a sort of tension. This recent one came out of that. It’s kind
of a hybrid of our own two ideas, so we’ll see where we are able to
take the next one."

So the door is open for an Indy 5
we will just have to see what walks in!

Check out the full article at Times Online as George Lucas also talks about his
upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Red Tails.

And thanks to Grayson Van Leeuwen for
the article link.

Posted by Mitchell
Hallock

"Nuked the fridge"
Crashes Into Pop Culture

03/08/08, 4:42pm EST

While
it
conjures
up
a moment that may make Indy fans wince, the new catch
phrase; "nuked the fridge", is hot! Referring to Indy's latest escape
from certain doom in the latest film, Indiana Jones and the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, climbing into a refrigerator to
escape an atomic bomb blast, the saying also refers to something more.
The something more is when a series of films to television shows has
gone beyond the point of no return with its audience due to
retentiveness bad storylines, or has just gotten long in the tooth and
overstayed its welcome. The term "jump the shark" came when TV's
coolest hero (and Mutt Williams lookalike), Arthur "The Fonz"
Fonzerelli, did a water-skiing jump over a tank of sharks on the
classic show, Happy Days. Now, fans of pop culture are adding
to it with a cinematic version thanks to Indy's latest escapade.

From CNBC to Newsweek magazine folks
have been reporting about this latest, Indy-related phrase, the most
recent comes from The New York Times. Here are some highlights of
their article on Indy's high-flying catch phrase.

In recent weeks, a line from the
movie "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" -- "nuked
the fridge" -- has gained traction online. A Google search comes up
with 64,000 hits.

In "Indiana Jones," the hero's
improbable achievement was to survive a nuclear blast by hiding in a
refrigerator. Hence, "to nuke the fridge" means to introduce a wildly
implausible element to a once-respected franchise, or more generally,
to signal the abandonment of past standards of quality.

Newsweek chronicled the phrase,
calling it a synonym for "movie-franchise meltdowns." The Web site
Urban Dictionary has taken note of it, and Web sites such as
nukedthefridge.com and nukingthefridge.com hope to take advantage of
the burst of notoriety.

Well, there you have it Indy fans,
but I must say, wasn't "rafting from the plane" in Temple of Doom a
little more whacky? I guess it doesn't look as cool on a T-shirt.
Speaking of which if you want to tell the world that you survived
"nuking the fridge" or more, be sure to check out the official website
for some merchandise.

Hopefully, Indy 5 will come along and
make the nuked fridge seem like a "Bobby Ewing in the shower", in which
case writers on the TV show Dallas erased a season of strange plotlines
by making it all a dream.

Shawn
Adler,
writer
at
the MTV Movies Blog, recently had an exclusive
interview with George Lucas and asked him whether he still considered
Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) a strong enough character to drive an
Indiana Jones film.
As you may remember George Lucas's comment at the Cannes Film Festival when he told
reporters that he already had an idea for a possible Indy 5,
and that it would center, not on Indiana Jones, but on his son, Mutt
Williams.

Asked whether he still considered
Mutt Williams a strong enough character to drive an "Indiana Jones"
film, Lucas was adamant that Indy just isn’t Indy without Indy. Or, to
put it another way: No.

"Indiana Jones
is Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford IS Indiana Jones," Lucas said,
dismissively adding about a character he helped create that, "If it was Mutt Williams it would be ‘Mutt Williams and
the Search for Elvis’ or something."

It’s unclear what changed Lucas’s
mind about the character, or whether he would necessarily return at all
– even in a sidekick capacity. That said, "The Search for Elvis" is
hilarious.

Of course, talk of an eventual
"Indiana Jones V" is something of a giant hypothetical anyway, even as
Lucas continued to stroke the fire of anticipation at his Big Rock
Ranch near San Francisco, insisting that work IS being done to find a
suitable object for another installment.

"We ARE
looking for something for him to go after," Lucas said. "They are very hard to find. It’s like archeology. It
takes a huge amount of research to come up with something that will fit."

Paramount
Home
Entertainment
has
announced that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull will hit DVD and Blu-ray Disc on Tuesday,
October 14th:

The highest-grossing installment of
the phenomenally popular adventure franchise, with more than $770
million at the global box office, Paramount Pictures and Lucasfilm
Ltd.'s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will
make its highly anticipated debut on DVD and Blu-ray October 14.

Released by Lucasfilm Ltd. and
Paramount Home Entertainment, the film will be available as a two-disc
Special Edition DVD and Blu-ray loaded with spectacular bonus features
that allow viewers to accompany the filmmakers and cast on a
fascinating journey behind-the-scenes of this modern classic.

Directed by Steven Spielberg and
produced by Frank Marshall, with George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy as
executive producers, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal
Skull is the newest adventure in the phenomenally successful
INDIANA JONES series, which has earned six Academy Awards® and over
$2 billion worldwide.

Set in 1957, the film stars Harrison
Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia LaBeouf, Ray Winstone and John
Hurt, following Indy on a perilous adventure to find the coveted
Crystal Skull of Akator. From the ivy-covered halls of Marshall College
to the verdant jungles of South America, Indy is relentlessly pursued
by sinister Soviet agents who will stop at nothing to get their hands
on the eerie object of fascination.

The two-disc Special Edition DVD and
Blu-ray presentations feature hours of new content that opens up the
world of Indiana Jones as never before through in-depth footage of
Steven Spielberg and his cast and crew at work. From Shia LaBeouf's
training to become a master swordsman to Harrison Ford's reunion with
his fedora, whip... and Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood, viewers will
play witness to the magic of cinema's greatest action-adventure hero's
triumphant return to the big screen, as well as the of the
extraordinary work of legendary artists who brought Indy's latest
thrilling adventure to life.

In addition, all four INDIANA JONES
films will be showcased in the quintessential Indiana Jones collection
entitled The Complete Adventure Collection, which will include
the first three films plus the two-disc Special Edition DVD of the
latest installment.

Two-disc Special
Edition DVD

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull two-disc Special Edition DVD is presented in
widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with THX Certified Dolby Digital
English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround and
English, French and Spanish subtitles. The two-disc set includes the
following special features:

Disc 1:

The Return
of a Legend - The evolution of the new film and a tribute to the
legendary hero and his creators.

Pre-Production
- Follows Steven Spielberg as he creates animatic
sequences, Shia LaBeouf as he learns to swordfight and captures the
reunion of filmmakers and cast on the soundstage.

DVD Disc 2:

Production
Diary: Making Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull - Join filmmakers, cast and crew for a complete
look at the making of the film:

Shooting Begins: New Mexico

Back To School: New Haven,
Connecticut

Welcome to the Jungle: Hilo,
Hawaii

On-Set Action

Exploring Akator

Wrapping Up!

Warrior Makeup

The Crystal Skulls

Iconic Props

The Effects of Indy

Adventures in Post
Production

Closing: Team Indy

Pre-Visualization
Sequences:

Area 51 Escape

Jungle Chase

Ants Attack

Galleries

The Art Department

The Adventure Begins

Cemetery and Jungle

Akator

Stan Winston Studio

Corpses, Skeletons &
Mummies

Aliens & Crystal Skulls

Production Photographs

Portraits

Behind-the-Scenes Photographs

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of
the Crystal Skull also will be available as a single disc DVD
presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with THX Certified Dolby
Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1
Surround and English, French and Spanish subtitles.

Special Edition
Blu-ray

The Special Edition Blu-ray is
presented in 1080p High Definition with THX Certified English 5.1 Dolby
True HD, French 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and
English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese
subtitles. The two-disc set includes the following special features:

Blu-ray Disc 1:

Indiana Jones
Timelines - Explore the movie through interactive timelines that
include video featurettes, in-depth information and unique imagery.
Your adventure begins with one of these three timelines:

Story Timeline: Showcases the
key events of the "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" storyline.

Production Timeline: A
Making-of chronology for "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull".

Historical Timeline: Dives
into the real-world historical influences that are referenced in the
film.

The Return
of a Legend - The evolution of the new film and a tribute to the
legendary hero and his creators. (HD)

Pre-Production
- Follows Steven Spielberg as he creates animatic
sequences, Shia LaBeouf as he learns to swordfight and captures the
reunion of filmmakers and cast on the soundstage. (HD)

Disc 2:

Production
Diary: Making Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull - Join filmmakers, cast and crew for a complete
look at the making of the film:

Shooting Begins: New Mexico (HD)

Back To School: New Haven,
Connecticut (HD)

Welcome to the Jungle: Hilo,
Hawaii (HD)

On-Set Action (HD)

Exploring Akator (HD)

Wrapping Up! (HD)

Warrior
Makeup (HD)

The Crystal
Skulls (HD)

Iconic Props
(HD)

The Effects
of Indy (HD)

Adventures
in Post Production(HD)

Closing:
Team Indy (HD)

Pre-Visualization
Sequences:

Area 51 Escape (HD)

Jungle Chase (HD)

Ants Attack (HD)

Galleries

The Art Department

The Adventure Begins

Cemetery and Jungle

Akator

Stan Winston Studio

Corpses, Skeletons &
Mummies

Aliens & Crystal Skulls

Production Photographs

Portraits

Behind-the-Scenes Photographs

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of
the Crystal Skull has a running time of 122 minutes and an MPAA
rating of PG-13 for adventure violence and scary images and is rated PG
in Canada for violence and frightening scenes.

Cinematical blogger Jeffrey M. Anderson recently
wrote a defense of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal
Skull, which he "determined has been judged more by its hype than
by the actual content of the film." Jeffrey's defense turns out to be
an interesting analysis worth checking out!

Another complaint is that the stunts
are "unbelievable," including the long chase through the jungle on two
seemingly parallel and obstruction-free roads, Mutt's vine-swinging and
going over three sets of waterfalls. I agree that these are ridiculous,
but they're cheerfully so and done completely within the gleeful,
giant-sized guidelines of the movie and the series in general. (That's
why the film has such a deliberately artificial look.) After all, in
the earlier films, we also have Indy jumping over a break in the tracks
in a mine cart, falling out of an airplane in an inflatable raft, etc.
If I remember correctly, the MAD Magazine parody of the first film was
all about its "unbelievability." This is not a new argument, and it
never stopped the earlier movies. Realism is not, and never has been, a
requirement for a good movie.

Thanks to Glenn Ehlers for pointing
the way to this article. And Glenn, you are certainly not the only
person getting tired of the negativity around the film!

Posted by Gilles V

Indy 4 on
the Big Screen for the Last Time

26/08/08, 4:23pm EST

I
saw that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was
winding up its theatrical run and heading off in the sunset. While news
of Indy 4's upcoming DVD and Blu-Ray release this October was
announced this week the thought of an Indy-less move theatre after a
nearly twenty year wait, made my blue eyes even bluer!

So, I scanned the newspaper movie
listings and low and behold found Crystal Skull playing at the
local second run theatre house, alongside the other big boys of summer,
Iron Man and Kung Fu Panda.
Even
better
it
was only $4.00! You can't beat that price for sheer Indy
entertainment, heck, for 12.00 you could see all three blockbusters for
almost what it costs to see just one in a first run theatre nowadays.

Indy at the Fairfield Community Theatre.

I was surprised to see that things
hadn't changed much at the Fairfield Community Theatre, it was an old
movie house just around the corner from the train station, and even had
balconies! I went to the 9:30pm show, and bought my Milk Duds (only
2.00 - another bargain) and sat down to see the Man with the Hat one
last time on the big screen.

The film started without any trailers
and we (all 25 people in the house), were taken for a wild ride across
the desert highways with those drag racing teenagers and Russkies. For
all the negative comments, Indy 4 has had to endure, after not
seeing it for over a month and knowing it was leaving soon, I found
myself treasuring every moment. During the New Haven/Marshall College
scene a small smattering of applause was heard from some locals in the
audience as familiar streets were graced with the presence of the
world's greatest archeologist adventurer. And I picked up on small
details that I had missed including the "138" on the house in Doomtown
and the photo of Henry Sr. and Indy (River Phoenix) that was in Henry's
house in Last Crusade is on an end table in Indy's house near
the phone as he is packing his bags. Nice touch, though tiny!

There was a strangeness in the air,
as a rumbling sound was heard halfway through the film. It was the
sound of snoring from an audience member behind me! It did shake the
roof during Indy's encounter with the Crystal Skull and Spalko
in the tent scene, hey it was a late night after all.

Before I knew it, two hours flew by
in what seemed like seconds, and we were at the Congregational Church
watching Indy and Marion get hitched. As I walked up the aisle with the
Raiders March playing over the speakers and the credits rolling behind
me, I watched as all the theatre goers left with springs in their steps
and smiles on their faces.

I thought; "Was this really the end
of Indiana Jones big screen adventures"? I hope not, but all in all, it
was one hell of a ride this summer!

Posted by Mitchell
Hallock

Indy the Worldwide
Box Office Champ of This Summer

29/08/08, 3:48pm EST

While
he
might
have
had to fight off more naysayers and bad critics than ever
before, the man with the Hat managed to top the worldwide summer box
office. According to Variety's end of summer numbers:

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull was the one pic that everyone thought would
succeed overseas, and it did exactly that as the top international
summer grosser at $466 million.

Still, that would have been only the
fifth highest last summer, after the third Pirates of the Caribbean
pic, the fifth Harry Potter and the third editions in the Spider-Man
and Shrek franchises.

After Crystal Skull, though,
few of the properties carried a guarantee of blockbuster performance
outside the U.S. That was clearly the case with The Dark Knight,
which
now
looks
likely to top the $400 million mark in international
grosses today and should wind up the final summer weekend in the lead.

We will have to see how Indy does in
the final race against The Dark Knight for Box Office Champ in
the Foreign Box Office this weekend.

Monsters and Critics is reporting that Indy 4
has won an award! Monsters and critics are nothing new to Indiana
Jones, but this time he walked off with an award from the National
Movie Awards in London rather than cuts and bruises. The Crystal
Skull was recognized for an award that all Indy fans already gave
it back on May 22nd.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull, scooped the prize for Best Action/Adventure
film. Both lead actor Harrison Ford - sporting a moustache - and
director Stephen Spielberg sent recorded acceptance speeches for the
award. Juno, which garnered four Oscar nominations earlier this
year, won the prize for Best Comedy.

You
Scream,
I
scream,
we all scream for INDY! Spike TV has just announce
their nominations for the second annual SCREAM Awards and Indiana
Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has been nominated in
several categories.
Fans can vote as well starting on September 12 and ending October 19th
and the winner will be announced on Tuesday, October 21 at 9:-11:00pm
EST!

Following are the categories and
nominees for Spike TV's "SCREAM 2008:"

Speaking
to
MTV about his upcoming Spielberg venture; Eagle
Eye, Shia LaBeouf discussed that other project he had this summer,
Indyfans might recall called; Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull. Shia along with Crystal Skull
screenwriter David Koepp, discuss the film and the scenes that so many
fans seemed to have been up in arms about like Indy's escape from a
A-bomb and Mutt's vine swinging antics. All in all, the two seem to
agree that the film was not any different from Indy's previous big
screen adventures when it comes to outlandish antics, and that maybe it
was the point of view of the audience that was different rather than
the film.

Though Indyfans may beg to differ, Crystal
Skull did fulfill the dreams in that it brought Harrison Ford back
to the big screen in his most beloved character next to, if not a few
steps ahead of, Han Solo! So think about that the next time you are
about to start bad-mouthing one of the greatest film series of all time
(okay, I am a little biased).

Here are some excerpts from the
interview:

"I feel like
people are watching the movie and it's not the same viewer [as watched
the originals]. It's not necessarily the style of the films has
changed, it's the viewer — the viewer is different than the viewer was
in the 80s," said LaBeouf, who played Indiana's prodigal son
Mutt Williams. "It's two different viewers, and I
think it was an innocent viewer and a less-jaded consumer [back then]."

"To suspend
the disbelief — the swing through these vines and nuking of the fridge.
It wasn't like they didn't do fantastical stuff in the first three,"
he
continued.
"They did ridiculously fantastical
things in the first three. But you could stomach it because you were a
different viewer, and I think that the viewership has changed."

But while LaBeouf embraced the
silliness of nuking the fridge as consistent, screenwriter David Koepp
already seems to be distancing himself a little from the center of the
fanboy bull's-eye. Asked whether he would defend "nuking the fridge" to
his dying day, Koepp was quick to point out that that moment "wasn't even my idea." (Indeed, a similar scene
was in Frank Darabont's earlier version.)

"I thought the
fridge was kind of cool, and I thought that was a lot of fun,"
Koepp said. "There's going to be stuff in movies
that people like and don't like. Going into that one, I knew I was
going to get hammered from a number of quarters. That movie is owned by
millions and millions of people. What I liked about the way the movie
ended up playing was it was popular with families. I like that families
really embraced it."

At the end of the day, LaBeouf isn't
particularly concerned with whether fans liked the moment — he's not
even concerned with whether the average fan liked the movie, he said.

"I think that
Steven [Spielberg], George [Lucas] and Harrison [Ford] are the only
fans that I care about. ... If they're happy with the movie, then my
job is done," LaBeouf said. "And they're
happy with the movie."

You can read the full interview and
see video of Shia's interview at MTV News.

Posted by Mitchell
Hallock

Karen Allen Says Indy
5 is Not Official

22/09/08, 4:50pm EST

While
out
promoting
the upcoming DVD and Blu-ray release of the summer
blockbuster, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,
the
two
time
Indy actress, Karen Allen talked about Indy's possible
next adventure.

"I would say
[I'm] very open to it," she said. "You
know, this was a delightful experience and, yeah. I would welcome it."

But has anyone brought up the
possibility of another movie? "Not really,"
she
said.
"No. I mean, except for fans and, you
know, I've had a lot of people say, 'Is there going to be another one?'
But, no, not officially."

So, while Marion Ravenwood always
knew Indy would come walking back through her door, the rest of us will
have to keep guessing when that day may come again for the fifth Indy
movie.

The article also contains more
including on Allen's experiences working with Ford and Spielberg again
and what it was like returning to one other iconic roles.

Like
music
to
the
ears... the Man himself has confirmed that his longtime
friend and collaborator, the plaid one, the Creator, the guy with more
money than Jabba the Hutt, George Lucas is hard at work crafting a
fifth adventure for the intrepid archaeologist! Ford said that he isn't
keen on an animated Indiana Jones adventure but rather doing a live
action movie.
From Corn Flakes to cartoons this article has it all, so lets look at
the article from the Los Angeles Times and see what Ford said about
Indy's next big screen epic:

Harrison Ford said Friday that
momentum is building for a fifth movie in the "Indiana Jones" franchise
and that George Lucas is already cooking up a suitable plot for a
heroic senior citizen with a penchant for whips and fedoras.
"It's crazy but great," the 66-year-old
Ford said. "George is in think mode right now."

Now, though, the latest success and
the fact that the franchise's old machinery was revived has Ford
thinking a fifth movie is not only a viable idea, but an attractive one.

"It's
automatic, really, we did well with the last one and with that having
done well and been a positive experience, it's not surprising that some
people want to do it again," Ford said.

I asked Ford who specifically is
stirring up the idea of another revival, whether it was Lucas,
Spielberg or the star himself? "Really, it comes
from the ethos, from the ether. It's natural. It's a way of nature, of
course, success breed opportunities ... also we don't stay as closely
in contact as have in the last year, that's part of it."

Ford said, though, he would not be
game to making an animated "Indiana Jones" film, a notion that became
at least a possible option after Lucas took his "Star Wars" theatrical
saga into the computer-generated realm with "The Clone Wars" this
summer.

"I'm not
philosophically against doing animation roles but not for Indiana Jones,"
Ford
said.
"I'd hate to see it reduced in any way
from the movies that we have done and the way we have done them."

Read the full article at Los Angeles Times and starting dusting off the
fedoras boys and girls because there is till some mileage left in this
Ford model!

Thanks to Josh Thomas and Patrick
dePoortere for informing us.

Posted by Mitchell
Hallock

Crystal Skull
DVD & Blu-ray Interviews

18/10/08, 1:33pm EST

In
honor
of
the
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull
DVD & Blu-ray release, Moviefone chats with Ford about playing Dr. Jones
after a 20-year layoff, whether he'll be passing the famed fedora to
Shia LaBeouf and much more. Here follows an excerpt from their interview:

Moviefone: In all
those different iterations of the script, was the character of Mutt
always supposed to be your son, or was that something that evolved over
time?

Harrison Ford: "No, he was always meant to be my son. It's a
reflection of the relationships that we began to explore through Karen
[Allen] and through the character that Sean [Connery] played, my
father. We found that that brought great pleasure to the audience -- to
introduce them to other members of Indiana Jones' family, and to see
what forces of personality caused him to be the person he is."

And ComingSoon.net quickly understood exactly why Dr.
Jones - and filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, not to
mention a couple generations of moviegoers - fell for Karen Allen.
An engaging storyteller with a winsome personality, Allen clearly
relishes her experiences making 1981's Raiders and its
27-years-later-sequel, and she unearthed some fascinating insight into
her journey - and a definite willingness to return for another
adventure at Indy's side now that she's truly his "goddamn partner."
ComingSoon.net's new interview with Karen Allen is a must read!

This same interview with Karen Allen
was also published at AintItCoolNews.com, with some minor edits.

Talking
Indy,
fabrics
and
acting with a reporter, Karen Allen aka Marion
Ravenwood-Williams-Jones, had this to say about the gangs desire fore Indy
5:

"I think
possibly there will be another one but the challenge is how to make it
good," she said in Sydney yesterday. "George
and
Steven
and
Harrison want everything to be perfect and worthy of the
films that have gone before. The biggest obstacle is that they are so
sincere in their efforts to make a good script, to not just make a film
to make a film."

Now if only they would look at my
script centered around a brash, young adventurer (think Brad Pitt)
stealing news headlines about amazing discoveries that he is stealing
out right from under Indy's nose. What ensues is a an old school/new
school rivalry, ala the Buzz Lightyear (modern day) versus Woody the
Cowboy (old school) and Indy trying not to become like Marion's Dad,
Abner, and end up dying looking "bits of junk" and try and settle down
and enjoy the bliss of married life. Yet when the lure of finding the
Lost Continent beckons -- its a race for knowledge and glory! Wait, is
that the phone ringing... is it Mr. Lucas?

Nah, just a telemarketer.. oh well.

Let's hope Indy 5 is coming
soon!

Posted by Mitchell
Hallock

Indy 4 ILM
Artist Digs Into the Effects

30/10/08, 2:57pm EST

IGN
Australia caught up with ILM effects artist Christian Alzman and
discussed all the behind the scenes work done getting Indiana Jones' Kingdom
of
the
Crystal
Skull to become a "reality" - at least on screen
anyway.

The article does a great job showing
some pre-production art for Skull and is full of some
tantalizing tidbits such as getting the Crystal Skull right:

IGN AU: That's
interesting – I mean, the crystal skull was so critical to the story,
and yet – there wasn't a firm design in place? How much did the design
and function of the skull change during the process of production?

Christian Alzman: "You know, with the skull and the skeleton already
designed, it's true – we only had to put flesh on it. But it could've
gone a lot of ways and a lot of people really wanted that '50s style
'classic alien' – the whole Area 51, B-movie alien. It was great. It
was really that design aesthetic that I kept pulling from; looking at a
lot of older B-movie designs – but trying to make that look more real
and gritty to fit in with the Indy universe."

But when IGN asked about why some of
the efects look the way they do -- a point of contention from some
Indyfans -- Alzman tells IGN it was intentional.

IGN AU: This is a
strange question, but in light of DVD extras and so on, how much work
went on after the film was in the can? Did you polish anything up? I
ask because, well, look at George Lucas' legacy...

Christian Alzman: "As far as I know, nothing. That was pretty much it; we
just do interviews and the effects breakdowns where things magically
come apart during the shot and you can see how they came together. We
do lots of that. But as far as clean-up goes, we try and do that while
we're working on the film. For Steven, one of his directions was, he
wanted us to incorporate as many mistakes as possible into it, so that
it looked like it was shot as roughly as possible – you know, when
something dirty hits the lens, there's a weird camera shake and so on.
We were tracking through the jungle in on scene and the camera operator
bumped into the camera. That's stuff he was really interested in
getting to make it look more dirty and gritty – and that was a very
different approach to the stuff that George [Lucas] wants us to do."

And of course the big question --
what about Indiana Jones 5:

IGN AU: What about Indy
5? Have you been briefed on where to go next, or what's happening
there?

Christian Alzman: "You know, if it happens, we'd all love to work on it –
but I don't know long they can keep going. But if they make the story
work... only if the story works. I would love to see it just to get a
few more of those 'ten-year-old' moments watching it, as long as they
keep working with an older Indy. Then I think it's totally possible.
It'd be interesting to see what the threat would be."

Read the full
article at IGN and find out more even some dirt on those pesky
groundhogs!

Posted by Mitchell
Hallock

Indy 4
Earns People's Choice Nomination

11/11/08, 11:34am
EST

The
2009
People's Choice
Awards nominations were announced in Los Angeles and Indiana
Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was selected in the
Favorite film category up against Iron Man and The Dark
Knight. Indiana Jones was also selected as a nominee in the
categories of:

So let's give the Man with Hat a
helping hand on this quest and hope he gets the prize(s)!

Posted by Mitchell
Hallock

Ford Says: Indy
5 in "Primary Stages"

19/11/08, 1:08pm EST

While
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull divided the Indy fan base, it was a huge box office
success. So, in Hollywood where they know how to make lightning strike
twice, thrice and as many sequels as they can get, it looks like
Indiana Jones will not be closing the door just yet. In an interview with MTV News, the Man with the Hat,
himself, Harrison Ford does confirm that work is in its "primary"
stages on a fifth big screen adventure for Indiana Jones.

MTV: Is a fifth
"Indiana Jones" film inevitable?Ford: "I don't know. If we come up with a good idea..."

MTV: Is the ball
in George Lucas' court at this point?Ford: "It is. That's the process. With some general input, he
goes off and searches for the MacGuffin [Ed. note: That's the plot
device that propels the story, i.e. the Ark] and then stumbles into a
story. And at some point, we have a chance to take a look at it and
give some input."

MTV: And he hasn't
found the MacGuffin yet?Ford: "No, we're still in the primary stages."

MTV: The end of
the last film leaves your character in a very intriguing position. He
has a wife and a kid. Can he still be that man of adventure with those
commitments?Ford: "And he's seen something. Remember those are the only
witnesses to what he's seen. That's kind of interesting."

MTV: James Bond
is a franchise that's figured out how to ably switch between actors.
If, in 50 years, they find another man to play Indiana Jones, would
that sit all right with you?Ford: "The very simple addition of numbers would make it
clear that in 50 years I will not give a sh-- at all. I will so not
care."

MTV: Well what
if you knew today that someone else would wear the hat one day?Ford: "Fifty years from now, they can do anything they want."

See the full article at MTV News and learn more about the wear and tear of
working on Indy 4 did to the man who's name is synonymous with
box office gold and big screen excitement. Here's hoping I might get
that part as an "extra" the next time the gang comes to film at
Marshall College!

Posted by Mitchell
Hallock

George Lucas is
"working on Indy 5"

04/12/08, 11:00am
EST

A
few weeks ago, Harrison Ford told MTV
News that the ball for Indiana Jones 5 was in George
Lucas's court as he needed to find the next quest for Indiana Jones.
Now, at an award ceremony honoring Samuel L. Jackson, Lucas echoes
Ford's remarks and admits he is "working on it" as Indy would say. In
the immortal words of Marion Ravenwood from Raiders; "Well,
whatever your doing, do it faster". A sentiment that many actors who
have been under Mr. Lucas's direction will say are his rules for acting
as well; "Faster and more intense". Indyfans hope that Mr. Lucas
practices what he preaches and we see Indy back up on the big screen
where he belongs very soon. We would even watch two hours of Indy
looking for his car keys!

Here is the bit Lucas told ComingSoon.net on the development of Indy 5:

ComingSoon.net:
You had huge success this summer with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull. Are you seriously thinking about another one?
Harrison Ford's said there may be plans afoot.George Lucas: "Yes - we're looking for a "MacGuffin," which is an
object that he goes after. They're very hard to come by!"

ComingSoon.net: Would
you
want
to
keep the whole family together for a film - Indy, Marion
and Mutt?George Lucas: "It really depends on what it is Indy goes looking for
and then how the story falls out of that, and then how convenient or
inconvenient to have the group there."

With
a
list
of
64 continuity blunders and factual errors, Indiana Jones
and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has topped the list of the
most mistakes filled film of 2008!

Indiana Jones' cinematic return came
first in a new survey by film website moviemistakes.com.
Fans
spotted
a
huge number of mistakes in the Steven Spielberg movie -
including the use of a Harley Davidson motorbike from 2000, despite the
fact the film is set in 1957.

Movie mistakes editor Jon Sandys says,
"With the budget of many movies, you'd think they could avoid mistakes
like this, or at least use computers to cover them up, but they keep
cropping up, and eagle-eyed movie fans keep spotting them."

And this isn't the first time Indy
tops the movie blunders list either. The highest honors also went to Raiders
of
the
Lost
Ark in 1981 and again to the Last Crusade in 1989!
Only Temple of Doom didn't make the top as it had to make room
for The Terminator in 1984.

While
he
might
not
have punched as hard as The Dark Knight, he
definitely had more kick in him than Kung Fu Panda, and showed
folks he still had it in him. That's right, Indiana Jones and the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull came in second in the worldwide box
office grosses with a total of $786.6 million dollars.

Indy did not do so bad domestically by
finishing third in the US with $317 million dollars, just a mere 1.3
million behind Iron Man which had a total pf 318.3 million to
finish in second place.

While we all know that the Hollywood
Trinity of Lucas, Ford and Spielberg are not strapped for cash, but
Indyfans hope with box office gold like this, the folks at Lucasfilm
and Paramount might take Indy out for a fifth adventure... hint - hint!

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